Noelle's Grey & Coral Nursery

My Room

Name: Noelle (3 months)Location: San Francisco Bay Area

We wanted our baby girl Noelle to have a nursery with a color theme that wasn't overly girly and landed on shades of grey with accents of coral. I'm not sure if it was the nesting instinct or an obsessive compulsive crafting instinct, or the fact that grey and coral décor is not so easy to find, but I have to admit I went a little crazy with DIY projects for the nursery.

Here are my "confessions":

1. I made my own birch tree wall decals from a roll of white contact paper.

2. I refinished an old glider to match the color palette (it was a typical white and honey oak glider that I sanded, grey-washed and reupholstered in a coral print).

3. I made her little mobile with hand-sewn little stuffed animals (Owl, Giraffe, Whale and Elephant!) and hearts.

4. I designed and printed all the art on the walls. Except the one with the mommy and baby giraffe, which...

5. ...I painstakingly punched out colored circles from paint chips and glued them down to make the giraffe artwork.

6. I made the little hot air balloons in the corner. (The corner just looked empty to me without them.)

7. I sewed her an alphabet pillow, "N" for Noelle, and the crib skirt

8. I painted a basket and some pinecones grey to match the color palette.

Most of this happened when I was eight months pregnant. My husband thought I was crazy, but when it all turned out so pretty he told me I should put some of the items up at my Etsy shop in case I can save some other very pregnant women from doing some of this themselves!

As Apartment Therapy's Managing Editor, Carrie covers design and modern homelife with children. A lapsed librarian, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids and is in contention to break the record for most hours spent at the playground.